Recent Patents on Biotechnology - Volume 16, Issue 3, 2022

Type 2 diabetes (T2D), which affects many people around the world, is one of the diseases that is on the rise. Various studies have revealed that insulin resistance and lessened insulin production have been associated with T2D, and they also show that this disease can have a genetic origin and is associated with different genes, such as KCNQ1, PPAR-γ, calpain-10, ADIPOR2, TCF7L2, which can be utilized as therapeutic targets. Different therapeutic approaches and strategies such as exercise and diet, pharmacological approaches, and utilization of nanoparticles in drug delivery and gene therapy can be effective in the treatment and control of T2D. Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and sodiumglucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) have both been considered as drug classes in the treatment of T2D and T2D-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease and renal disease, and have considerable influences such as diminished cardiovascular mortality in individuals with T2D, ameliorated postprandial glycaemia, ameliorated fasting glycaemia, and diminished bodyweight on disease treatment and improvement process. In the present review article, we have attempted to explore the risk factors, genes, and diseases associated with T2D, therapeutic approaches in T2D, the influences of drugs such as dapagliflozin, metformin, acarbose, Januvia (sitagliptin), and ertugliflozin on T2D in clinical trials and animal model studies. Research in clinical trials has promising results that support the role of these drug approaches in T2D prophylaxis and ameliorate safety even though additional clinical research is still obligatory.

Background: With the increase in cases of intolerance and allergies to milk protein, new food possibilities have been studied as an alternative to dairy drinks in order to meet the needs of this population, such as non-dairy synbiotic drinks. Objective: The aim of this study was to carry out an integrative literature review on the main types of non-dairy synbiotic beverages in order to investigate the probiotics and prebiotics added to them. Besides, we also looked into the characteristics of the substrates and fermentation conditions (temperature, time, and pH) to assess the influences on bacterial viability, consumer acceptance, conservation, and antimicrobial action. Methods: We conducted an integrative review of articles published in Pubmed, Web of Science, Scielo, Scopus, and Capes journals in the last five years, using the following terms: symbiotic drink, symbiotic beverage, synbiotic drink, synbiotic beverage, bebida simbiótica, not kombucha, which resulted in the inclusion of 28 articles. Results: As expected, the main probiotics were lactobacillus and bifidobacterium, while the prebiotics were inulin and fructooligosaccharide. It is noteworthy that all analyzed beverages were, in fact, probiotics since they had values above the minimum viability of 6 log CFU/mL; consequently, they can bring benefits to consumers. Conclusion: In addition to being rich sources of nutrients, fruits and vegetables also enable the development of synbiotic drinks supplied from their substrates, providing an alternative for people who are lactose intolerant.

Coronaviruses hold idiosyncratic morphological features and functionality. The members of this group have a remarkable capability of infecting both animals and humans. Inimitably, the replication of the RNA genome continues through the set of viral mRNA molecules. Coronaviruses received least attention until 2003 since they caused only minor respiratory tract illnesses. However, this changed exclusively with the introduction of zoonotic SARS-CoV in 2003. In 2012, MERS-CoV emerged and confirmed this group of viruses as the major causative agents of severe respiratory tract illness. Today, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (i.e., COVID-19) has turned out to be a chief health problem that causes a severe acute respiratory disorder in humans. Since the first identification of COVID-19 in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, this infection has devastatingly spread all around the globe leading to a crippling affliction for humans. The strain is known as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and WHO (the World Health Organization) has termed this new pandemic disease as Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). COVID-19 is still spreading, with an estimated 136 million confirmed cases and more than 2.94 million deaths worldwide so far. In the current scenario, there is no particular treatment for COVID-19; however, remarkable efforts for immunization and vaccine development can be observed. Therefore, the execution of precautions and proper preventive measures are indispensable to minimize and control the community transmission of the virus. This review summarizes information related to the pathophysiology, transmission, symptoms, the host defense mechanism plus immunization and vaccine development against COVID-19 including the patents filed.

Extracellular vesicles derived from mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC-EVs) are gaining interest for medical purposes. The promising therapeutic effects exhibited in both preclinical and clinical studies have suggested that they may become an alternative for certain applications to cell-based therapies, which are subjected to stricter regulations. The commercial exploitation of these candidates requires a proper patent strategy from both the industry and public research organizations. Here, we performed a global patent literature analysis to identify key players and therapeutic applications in the field. Our results showed an increasing rate of patent publications since 2009, with Asia (specifically China) leading the patenting activity. The therapeutic use of MSC-EVs within patent literature covers a wide range of diseases, in which “Dermal and Wounds,” “Neurology” and “Cardiovascular” are the main therapeutic areas. Moreover, most of these patents include “productby- process” claims, since the therapeutic effects of MSC-EVs could be influenced by their manufacturing process. Our results followed scientific and clinical literature trends.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread exponentially, leading to an alarming number of deaths worldwide. A devastating effect has been observed in susceptible populations. Our body’s immune system plays a very important role in fighting against diseases. The principle of herd immunity (also known as population immunity), which has found its way into science and has been in the limelight, is the most widely recognised among all. It is an indirect defence against infectious diseases when a community gained immunity, either through vaccines or through prior infection. Herd immunity against COVID-19 must be achieved to reduce the transmission of disease and save lives. Therefore, this review provides a comprehension of the role of immunity, with a special emphasis on herd immunity against COVID-19, and the ways to attain herd immunity in India have also been discussed.

Background: Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is structurally similar to insulin and acts as an endocrine hormone secreted by the liver. Objective: Production of recombinant human IGF-1 (rhIGF-1) in Escherichia coli (E.coli) and evaluation of its proliferation stimulatory activity. Methods: hIGF-1 gene cloned into pBSK (+) simple vector was transformed into TOP 10 chemically competent cells of E. coli. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was achieved using specific hIGF-1 gene primers to confirm the successful transformation. To express the rhIGF-1 in E. coli (Rosetta (DE3) pLysS); the hIGF-1 gene was cloned into the pET-15b expression vector and then the recombinant pET-15b/IGF-1 vector was transformed into a chemically prepared competent expression bacterial cells; Rosetta (DE3) pLysS. The rhIGF-1 was expressed as insoluble aggregates called inclusion bodies (IBs) using a 2 mM Isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) inducer. IBs were solubilized in a denatured form using 6 M guanidinium hydrochloride (GdmCl), followed by in vitro protein refolding using the rapid dilution method. The refolded hIGF-1 was purified using the HiTrap- ANX anion exchange column. Western blot and ELISA using rabbit polyvalent anti-hIGF- 1 were performed to confirm the protein antigenic identity. Cell proliferation activity of rhIGF-1 was testified on normal human lung cell line (WI-38). Results: rhIGF-1 was purified from the HiTrap-ANX column at a concentration of 300 μg/ml. Western blot showed a single 7.6 kDa band obtained in the induced Rosetta (DE3) pLYsS. ELISA confirmed the molecular identity of the rhIGF-1 epitope, the concentration of purified rhIGF-1 obtained from the ELISA standard curve using rhIGF-1 reference protein as a standard was 300 μg/ml, and activity on WI-38 cells was 2604.17I U/mg. Conclusion: Biologically active native rhIGF-1 protein was successfully expressed. Patents related to the preparation of IGF-1 were mentioned along the text.